ORANGE COUNTY NEWSWATCH

TRY, TRY AGAIN: He insists it's nothing personal, but state Sen. John Lewis (R-Orange) is once again attempting to get Yorba Linda Councilman Henry W. Wedaa removed as chairman of the powerful South Coast Air Quality Management District. . . . Lewis failed a few months ago to push through a bill to dump Wedaa. Now he has amended two other bills, both up for a vote this week, in an attempt to depose the AQMD chief. Lewis contends the chairman is anti-business, but Wedaa boosters say he cuts issues down the middle.

SHIPS' SHAPE: As always, this weekend's Tallships Festival in Dana Point will feature sailing ships of classic designs, such as the square-rigged brig Pilgrim. But this year's festival, which opens Saturday (OC Live!), will also feature the state-of-the-art Seajet I, a 130-foot catamaran that can cruise at more than 30 knots. . . . "We just want to show the contrast between the old and the new," says Dan Stetson of the sponsoring Orange County Marine Institute.

BUY A WIN? Los Angeles Rams owner Georgia Frontiere and California Angels' owner Gene Autry used to dream about national championships. Now they'd be thrilled if their teams could cough up a winning season. . . . But before you feel too sorry for them, take a look at the net worth of big league sports owners estimated by Sports Illustrated this week. Autry is fifth in baseball, at $300 million. Frontiere is only 15th in football, but still worth a cool $160 million.

ON HOT SEAT--People about to move to Huntington Beach have one main question: How safe is it? The Police Department has been getting so many calls, in fact, that it has set up special lines to handle the question. It even has separate lines for questions pertaining to home or office. But police Chief Ronald L. Lowenberg says the answer is basically the same to everyone: Huntington Beach is "very safe." In an FBI ranking earlier this year, Huntington Beach was the 12th safest big city in the country.